Fat to Fit Series: Thoughts On Diet/Nutrition (Part 1)

So, as I’ve been going through this transformation from fat to fit, I’ve had just about a million different thoughts as far as health is concerned. My brain has spent countless hours thinking about nutrition, health, body composition, metabolism, fitness, diet and tons of others. Between media alone its easy to get wrapped up in all the different body’s of thinking as far as getting healthy goes.

Just about every diet imaginable exists. There’s paleo, vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, south beach, weight watchers, detox diets, juice cleanses, “military meals”, fasting just to name a few. All have their pros and cons. So how in the world am I supposed to know what to eat? I mean the pin on pinterest disagrees with what this post on Facebook says. The news is telling me that I just need to take an Acaci berry mix to boost my metabolism while Dr. Oz is giving me lists of “super meals”…these are not directly quoted things, but I think most people can agree that these are very close to reality and it’s really hard to decipher whats what when it comes to nutrition via media. Despite there being actually really great resources existing among the junk.

What I believe is a large problem in the US, is the lack of basic understanding as far as nutrition goes. The aforementioned media does not contribute to solving this confusion. Its something that is assumed is taught in the home, and unlike many other (skinnier) countries, the US is one of the few places that does not actually teach nutrition in HEALTH CLASS or PE. Does this not seem ass backwards to anyone? Its health class, shouldn’t I be taught how to nourish my body? I know that alcohol and drugs are bad, which is generally the focus (at least it was in all the variations I took through the years) but whats the point of avoiding those things if my body is already treated as a waste container with all the junk food I’m giving it? But I digress.

One minute something is bad for you, the next day its a superfood. (see past articles on eggs and their cholesterol vs. protein) You shouldn’t eat carbs, but eat healthy things like lots of fruit….but thats a carb? Diet pop (soda) is actually worse for you than regular (soda), and while eating dried fruit over that bag of lays chips is great, drying fruit can eliminate 30-80% of the vitamin and antioxidant content. So I decided to write out a few things I know to be absolutely true when it comes to a healthy diet. Feel free to do more research. I’d love to hear about it =]

Hey! Thanks for following my new blog! On the note of conflicting diet and nutrition advice from the media, I just wanted to say that the media and research is usually driven by who is spending money on it. Where I live, dairy farmers pay a big organisation a fee to market dairy through the media to boost sales, so the company touts all these weight loss benefits of dairy, when nutritionists themselves admit there are better places to receive protein, particularly given the injected hormones that pass into the milk. I wouldn’t trust the media with a single bit of nutritious advice!

I am well aware that there alternative motives as far as why ads for diet/food exist in the media. But I think many many people especially those with limited resources go to the internet and media for information about nutrition.
But good point!